NOTE: Because I have had so much fun in Tokyo, I’ve extended my trip by 2days to visit Hakone and explore more but I’m not ready to spend 300$ on a Ryokan yet..
Evening. My last post was killed for low effort, so I tried to put in some effort here to make my post w orthy of help. I tried to model this post on other successful posts so I hope it passes.
I live in Japan and I will be taking a trip to Tokyo starting December 23 or 24, depending on how I feel tonight. Below is my itinerary:
STAYING IN SHINJUKU
**December 23 \[Shinjuku -> Teamlabs -> Nichome\]**\- Arrive in Tokyo early morning, either keep stuff inside of a paid locker or go straight to Shinjuku to put my luggage down (Packing light, maybe only one bag). Spend that morning getting breakfast and traveling to Teamlab Planets/Borderless. Looking through the sub, they say this is an all-day thing? I’m not sure.
* Evening: Come back to Shinjuku and get some dinner, drinks in nichome. Existential dread in the airbnb
**December 24 \[Ueno Park -> Market -> Museum -> Roppongi Market -> Golden Gai\]** \- Ueno Park, and Ueno Park’s market in early morning (8am park, 11am to the market), Ueno National Museum of Nature and Science if I’m not too tired? Find a place to get lunch/early dinner in the market. Afternoon (2pm?) – Head over to Roppongi Market, since there’s apparently a big Christmas market? I’ve never been to one, so I’m not sure what that’ll be like.
* Evening: Attempt Golden Gai. I walked past my last time here and I was kind of intimidated by it, so I’ll try to do it solo again, this time.
**December 25 \[Tokyo Tower -> Imperial Palace and Garden -> Senso-ji -> Omoide Yokochō\]** \-Christmas, I’m assuming nothing will be open on this day. No clue what to do, really. I plan on waking up later on this day and going to Tokyo Tower. Afterwards I’ll go to the Imperial Palace since I’ve never seen it before. Senso-ji in the early evening.
* Evening: Depending on what is open, I would like to go to Omoide Yokochō. If not, I’ll try to find a sento around Shinjuku. This’ll probably be the one day where I’ll take an early night, since nothing will be open on Christmas.
**December 26 \[Akihabara -> Harujuku/Shinjuku -> Shibuya Crossing\]** \- Head over to Akihabara to explore, but no real destination. Moses Kebab(??) at the station? Late morning-afternoon, try to see if my friend in Tokyo wants to hang out. Depending on how that goes, I’ll go to Harujuku for crepes and to wander around. I have no plans for the evening to give me enough time to explore the Harujuku/Shinjuku area.
**December 27 \[Shibuya -> Tokyo Midtown -> Home\]** \- Last day, possibly heading home. I’ve never been in Shibuya proper, so after skimming through the sub I will go down to Shibuya Crossing, then “Shibuya Parco”, to visit the fashion bits and Pokemon center for a friend. I was told to visit Tokyo Midtown for the illumination/christmas stuff. In the evening, head back to Nagoya.
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I think it’s a good plan, but there are some issues that I will need to deal with once I get there. They are as follows, and I could use your advice:
1. Regarding Omoide Yokochō, I am not sure if this place is welcoming to foreigners/people who can’t speak Japanese well. I know some Japanese, though only enough to order drinks and food. Will I piss people off for taking up counter space?
2. Regarding Akihabara, Senso-ji, and Shinjuku: I don’t know where to eat out here. Usually I will just hop into a local spot and eat there, but I’d like to know if there are some specific places you think are places I cannot miss.
3. I like to end my nights where-ever I travel in sentos. From Abroad in Japan I hear there are places I can stay with private sentos/onsens near Senso-ji, but other than that I have no clue. Do you recommend this?
4. I’ve never been in a Ryokan. Skimming this sub people suggest a place called Hakone. Cursory google shows this to be really expensive (200+ a night) but it also comes highly regarded. I could trade in my plans for Dec 26-27 to go here, but I don’t have a car. What do you think?
I hope that is well enough to be good enough for recommendations. I think I have provided a good idea of where I will be going and what I will be doing during these days for people to base recommendations around. If not, well, I guess I do have a plan and I’ll do my best to execute it.
Thanks for your help,
Greyson
12 comments
The moderators killed your post, instead of letting the free Reddit do what it does? Stupid.
Where side of Japan do you stay?
“Christmas, I’m assuming nothing will be open on this day.”
It’s not a national holiday, if you think about it it’ll be obvious as to why. Dec 24th is like a valentines day tho.
Feel free to message me and I can recommend/give directions to a couple of Golden Gai bars that are very friendly but still local.
Remember there are 2 teamlabs, Both are nice.
> I am not sure if this place is welcoming to foreigners/people who can’t speak Japanese well. I know some Japanese, though only enough to order drinks and food. Will I piss people off for taking up counter space?
I loved my time there but it does cater towards tourists. This question is kindof like asking if you’ll piss anyone off in New York on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. You’ll see locals there for sure but you know….tourists are expected. It’s not intimidating. You’ll literally have shop owners waving you in. If they don’t and you see something that looks interesting, catch their eye and hold up a finger (one person) and point at an empty seat. They should wave you to sit down.
Teamlab in Odaiba is maybe 2 hours, although you can stay as long as you want.
If you want to see Christmas market, I would suggest going to Hibiya park, keep in mind you’d need a reservation. Roppongi market is a bit small. If you do go Roppongi Hills on your second day, consider going to Tokyo Midtown, it’s only 10-15 min on foot.
In general, I do not like how you do two things relatively close to each other on different days.
For example, Ueno park, I assume ameyoko, then… Roppongi. But on different days you go to Akihabara (that is walking distance from ameyoko) and Tokyo Midtown that is right next to Roppongi (also Tokyo tower is close to Roppongi).
Akihabara is not a morning place. If you live in Japan, you should already know that stores do not open before 10-11 AM, so there is no point going to Akihabara before that, unless you go to Kanda-myojin. And the whole point about Akihabara is shopping (or at least window shopping), mostly for anime stuff and electronic.
I doubt that much will be close for Christmas.
For sure there is sento in Tokyo, it should not be too hard to find with some use of Google. I would not especially recommend the place in Asakusa without knowing if it’s in your price range, but obviously it could work (I mean, if you do not have accommodation booked yet).
Yep, Hakone can be nice, regardless of ryokan stay. If you want to do ryokan with meal and onsen, then base price should be from 12 000 to 15 000 yen, of course it can be more depending on how luxurious the place is. If you travel solo, it can be a bit harder to find a place that accept solo traveler. Also, Hakone is not the only option for ryokan with onsen, you could stop by Shuzen-ji onsen in Izu, or in Atami. None of these location require a car, they can be done by train and local bus.
Just East of the Imperial Palace is Maranouchi. Their Christmas illumination is Harry Potter themed and stretches 1.2KMs.
As others mentioned, Tokyo Midtown is well lit up for the holidays and even has an ice rink.
A couple blocks south of the Roppongi Crossing is a popular udon place, Tsurutontan. During meal times you’re likely to see a line of people waiting.
There’s a huge Don Quijote in Shibuya. Just neat to walk through it, they sell everything.
Ueno market area is great to walk through as well.
Enjoy your time there. I just moved to Tokyo earlier this year. It’s such an amazing metro area and huge.
Rather than trying to attend a Christmas Market which will be packed with people these nights, try to visit a few of the holiday illuminations. Best part is they are almost all free and a number of the Christmas ones end on Dec 25 so you’ve got perfect timing.
– [5 Best Illuminations to See by Christmas Day](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/these-illuminations-in-tokyo-are-only-here-until-christmas-day-121721)
– [28 Illuminations in Tokyo ](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/tokyo-illuminations)
– [Harry Potter Illuminations Near Tokyo Station ](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/harry-potter-themed-christmas-illuminations-are-up-in-marunouchi-and-theyre-free-111221)
Christmas is not a holiday in Japan so everything will be open unless it’s usually closed on a Saturday
How was your trip? What would you change?